Today, Princess Marie-Esméralda of Belgium celebrates her sixty-fifth birthday!
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| Lilian with her daughter Marie-Esmeralda, 1956. |
Born on 30 September 1956 at Laeken, Princess Marie-Esmeralda Adelaide Lilian Anna Léopoldine of Belgium was the second daughter and last child of King Léopold III of the Belgians and his second wife Lilian, Princess de Réthy. Marie-Esmeralda had two full siblings: Prince Alexandre (1942-2009) and Princess Marie-Christine (b.1951). From her father’s first marriage to Princess Astrid of Sweden, Marie-Esmeralda had three half-siblings: Princess Joséphine-Charlotte (1927-2005; married Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg), King Baudouin (1930-1993; married Doña Fabiola Mora y Aragón), and King Albert II (b.1934; married Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria).
On 4 April 1998 at London, Princess Marie-Esmeralda of Belgium married Sir Salvador Moncada (b.1944), a Honduran-British pharmacologist. The couple have two children: Alexandra Leopoldine Moncada (b.1998) and Leopoldo Daniel Moncada (b.2001). Princess Marie-Esmeralda is a journalist and author. She is also the patroness of the The Princess Lilian Foundation.
Our best wishes to Princess Marie-Esmeralda on her birthday!
